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RN ship losses

@rnshiplosses.bsky.social

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Recording ship losses of the Royal Navies of Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand day by day, remembering the fallen and honouring all who served. Corrections and additions welcome. No official affiliations. No AI used here! Also at Twitter/X.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 12h

Understood, of course! Thank you!

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you! Shouldn't be long.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Many thanks!

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

That's very kind of you, thank you.

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you! As for the salvagers: Hands off! in my absence.

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Very kind, thank you.

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you! So far so good, the lift was working.

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Many thanks, it'll be fine. Just a bit of dry-docking needed!

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Very kind, thank you

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Many thanks

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thank you

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 13h

Thanks!

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 23h

Hello all, sorry to say I will have to take a break from posting for a few days for medical reasons. Nothing too serious and I will be back very soon. Thank you for your patience. ('Casualty drill on HMS Adamant, 16 April 1942' Imperial War Museum A 8834.)

'Casualty drill on HMS Adamant, 16 April 1942, in the South Atlantic'. Imperial War Museum image: A 8834. Four seamen in tropical kit manhandling a fifth, who is encased in stiff whole-body protective medical wrappings of some kind, through the bowels of a ship.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

'We have more French ships in our ports than remain in the ports of France' said Admiral Warren after 2nd Finisterre, with pardonable hyperbole. The British didn't bring the Glorioso into service, she was too battered and anyway they were alright for 74s.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks, what a fascinating bit of little-known history. Apparently there is a book about it: Brendan O'Brien, 'Speedy Justice: The Tragic Last Voyage of His Majesty's Vessel Speedy' (University of Toronto Press, 1992).

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

It is, and I'd like to know more about it. Apparently the defendant in the case was on board along with some witnesses (hope they were kept apart) and several court officials. Don't know what the case was about, but presumably it did not go ahead...

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

He was, and he did. Pedro Messía de la Cerda y de los Ríos: he and his crew were regarded as heroes in Spain, and were greatly admired in Britain. The ship did well too, the Glorioso was designed by Vice-Admiral José Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga, one of the best naval architects of the day.

RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

Well, it's showing up for me without any problems. Here are the two pages I referenced. Citation: Neil Cunningham Dobson & Sean Kingsley, 'HMS Victory, a first-rate Royal Navy warship lost in the English Channel, 1744: preliminary survey & identification', Odyssey Marine Exploration Papers 2 (2009).

Page 40 from Neil Cunningham Dobson and Sean Kingsley, 'HMS Victory, a first-rate Royal Navy warship lost in the English Channel, 1744: preliminary survey & identification', Odyssey Marine Exploration Papers 2 (2009). Relevant excerpt reads: 'The problematic sourcing of timber for wooden knees is also theoretically significant. During the reign of King George II, the procurement of timber reached crisis levels. Towards the end of the Seven Years War (1756-63), Roger Fisher, a specialist on wood supply, observed that "Indeed, so great has the consumption been that one of the most eminent timber dealers in the county of Sussex now living, has declared to me, that there is not now, as he verily believes, more than one tenth part of the full grown timber, standing or growing, as there was when he entered into business, forty-five years ago" (Marcus, 1975: 12).
This deficiency was not merely a matter of bad management, but one of partial environmental determinism and a failure by the Admiralty to react appropriately. The first 40 years of the 18th century witnessed a succession of mild winters. A sustained positive phase in the North Atlantic Oscillation created unusually high pressure and a strong westerly airflow that resulted in the decadal temperature rising by 0.6 degrees centigrade above normal between 1730 and 1739 – when Victory was being built. Consequently, cut timbers contained more sap than in typical growth cycles, making the seasoning process longer if not impossible. Wood was rotting instead of seasoning (Wilkinson, 2004: 85, 88-89).
All of these factors could have had a cumulative effect on the hull of HMS Victory, and her service record hints that all was not well with her structure. By October 1744, she had notably suffered numerous accidents and may have been as badly patched up as the Royal George would be later. Admiralty records leave the impression that from the start, the construction and operation of Victory experienced deep-set problems'.

Page 41 from Neil Cunningham Dobson and Sean Kingsley, 'HMS Victory, a first-rate Royal Navy warship lost in the English Channel, 1744: preliminary survey & identification', Odyssey Marine Exploration Papers 2 (2009). Relevant excerpt reads: 'The length of time that Victory spent being built, and the reality that re-fits were deemed necessary already in March 1737 (the year she was launched) and January 1739, when new knees had to be inserted, leaves the question of Victory's seaworthiness open to debate. In the absence of oak timber of sufficient size and suitability for ship construction, she was almost certainly constructed in part of unseasoned timber. The amount of time she spent in and out of dock would also have compounded any problem of rot, given the above concerns that warships were not being adequately ventilated.'

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

8 Oct 1944 // Minesweeper BYMS 2030 was sweeping at the mouth of the Seine when a mine exploded under her stern. She immediately began to settle and sank about 35 minutes later. All her crew survived and were safely evacuated, although four men suffered injuries. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

8 Oct 1944 // Minesweeper HMCS Mulgrave detonated a mine while sweeping off Le Havre. There were no casualties. Severely damaged, she was beached at Le Havre and temporary repairs enabled her to be towed to Portsmouth, where she was declared a total loss. #RoyalCanadianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

8 Oct 1917 // HM Trawler Ben Heilem, an Aberdeen boat in #RoyalNavy service as a minesweeper, ran aground off Berwick on Tweed. Salvage attempts failed because of bad weather, and she was abandoned as a wreck. No lives were lost. #WW1 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 1d

8 Oct 1812 // 18-gun sloop HMS Avenger (formerly merchant vessel Thames) was wrecked with no loss of life in the Narrows at St John's Harbour, Newfoundland. A change in the wind headed her as she tried to make the harbour in bad weather, and she was driven on shore. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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